Adrenaline punched through me as I spun toward the sound, staff raised, mana primed.

  “Bramble’s Embrace!”

  Thorns surged from the earth in a wave, slamming into the figure hidden in the foliage. A shocked shout rang out as their bow hit the forest floor, vines snapping around them like a trap.

  “Who are you, and why were you aiming that bow?” I demanded, aware of the others taking position around me.

  Through the tangle of thorns, I caught a glimpse of long, dark hair and blazing yellow eyes. The figure struggled, but the more they thrashed, the deeper the thorns bit into them.

  “I’m not the one you should be worrying about!” they shouted—the feminine voice low, urgent.

  That was our only warning.

  Three men lunged from the trees, one barreling toward Dominicus, another toward Henry, and the last straight at me.

  I spat a curse and swung my staff up just in time to block the incoming blade, inches from sinking into my chest.

  The man wielding it was utterly unremarkable—plain clothes, ordinary brown hair, forgettable features. If it weren’t for the coldness to his eyes, I would have assumed he was just a civilian out on a walk.

  Alarms raised again and I shoved him back, not risking a glance at the others or their fights. “Why are you attacking us?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped back, putting distance between us.

  From within the thorny prison, the woman thrashed harder. “He’s an assassin, he’s paid to do that, now let me out!”

  The man scowled, his glare cutting toward her. “I should have known you would get in the way.”

  His dagger flashed. Not toward me—toward her.

  I barely intercepted it, my staff knocking the blade off course before it could pierce her. Irritation flared alongside my confusion.

  She was fighting against the assassins?

  I wasn’t about to let her get injured while bound in my spell, but that was the only mercy she’d get until I knew what the hell was going on.

  I turned my glare back to the assassin. “Focus on me, asswipe! Who paid you?”

  He scoffed, pulling another dagger. “It won’t matter soon. You’re not surviving this encounter.”

  Then he lunged.

  He was fast—his movements a blur as he struck. I twisted, barely dodging, but his blade still grazed my cheek. He pressed the attack, relentless. Jab, slash, slice—none landed on anything vital, but the shallow cuts burned like fire.

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  I needed to pin him down. With no damaging spells, that was my best option. I channeled mana, preparing to cast. “Bramble’s—”

  He lunged again, forcing me to abort the spell and stagger back.

  “I’m not letting you do that, mage.” He sneered, resetting his stance.

  Sweat slid down my back. My skin prickled—heat building under it, spreading. The hood of my cloak felt sweltering.

  Something was wrong.

  The assassin smirked, circling me like a predator playing with its prey. I followed his movements, only for the world to lurch, a sickening spin throwing off my balance.

  He chuckled. “You mana users are all the same—arrogant fools. Poison makes taking you out too easy.”

  Poison.

  Fuck.

  Colors blurred, twisting into a sickly, churning mess. The vibrant greens of the forest bled into reds, yellows, and blues—eerily similar to the time a toddler puked on me after eating an entire bag of gummy worms.

  Shoving the memory aside, I latched onto a single desperate thought: Verdant Renewal. Would it work on poison?

  There was only one way to find out. I steeled myself, forcing the words out. “Verdant—”

  His eyes widened in realization. “A healer!”

  He lunged again.

  I moved on instinct, catching his weight–nearly teetering under it thanks to my demolished equilibrium–and slamming a fist into his diaphragm. A choked wheeze burst from him as air fled his lungs.

  I followed up with a staff strike to his hand, knocking the dagger free. It flew into the bushes, far from reach.

  With him stunned, I seized my chance and finished the spell. “Renewal!”

  Mana surged through me, washing over the cuts. The burning eased, then vanished. The world snapped back into focus, the nausea gone in an instant.

  Not giving him a second to recover, I shoved him hard against a tree and cast, “Bramble’s Embrace!”

  Thorny vines lashed around him, pinning his arms to the trunk. He thrashed, just as uselessly as the woman behind me.

  Only then did I take a breath, finally checking on the others.

  Dominicus had his assassin pinned beneath him, sword at his throat. Eleanor straddled hers in much the same fashion, her dagger pressed warningly to his neck. Henry, blade in hand, knelt beside Maya, checking her over.

  Time stepped to my side, eyes flicking between the woman and my trapped assassin. He grimaced. “Good work. Though I dare say you cut it close with that poison.”

  I exhaled, nodding. “I’ll have to be more careful in the future. For now…” I turned a sharp glare on my two prisoners. “Would someone like to explain why we have three assassins and one stalker—who is apparently not with them—following us?”

  Both stiffened, lips pressed into thin lines. I turned to the woman first.

  “Or maybe you can explain why we’ve had a bird tailing us.”

  Understanding flashed across her face before she groaned. “You prick! I told you not to follow me!”

  I shot the others a confused look. They returned it in kind.

  “Well, that answers absolutely nothing. Care to be clearer?”

  It wasn’t her that answered.

  The raven from earlier swooped down, landing on the ground beside her. Its intelligent eyes locked onto mine.

  Then, it opened its beak—and spoke.

  “Perhaps I can be of some assistance in clearing things up?”

  …Did that poison have a hallucinogen in it?